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Up to 15% of patients with diabetes worldwide experience foot problems, which are the most frequent cause of their hospitalization. Proper foot care is essential to avoid these problems and enhance the patient’s quality of life. This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of a health education intervention on awareness and practice of foot self-care among diabetic patients. This study was conducted at the “Endocrinology Outpatient Clinic” of Tanta University Hospitals, Egypt. A hundred diabetic patients were recruited for the study and then divided into intervention and control groups. A baseline assessment of foot self-care awareness and practice was done for both groups using a structured questionnaire. The control group received their routine care provided by the clinic, while the intervention group received an additional health education program. All patients were reassessed after three months. In the intervention group, the total awareness score was improved from (9.49 ± 1.65) preprogram to (13.70 ± 2.37) post-program ( p  < 0.001). Also, the total score of practice was improved from (38.15 ± 6.30) preprogram to (53.47 ± 6.03) post-program ( p  < 0.001). The total score of awareness and practices revealed a significant positive correlation ( r  = 0.59). A large effect size was found for both after the intervention. The study demonstrated a notable lack of awareness and adherence to foot self-care measures among patients with diabetes, which were markedly improved after implementing a foot self-care educational program. So, a health education program must be incorporated as special sessions at outpatient clinics for patients with diabetes to lower the risk of diabetic foot problems in Egypt.

Background A safe and effective vaccine is the ultimate key to mitigating the COVID-19 pandemic. Vaccine acceptance is influenced by various factors, including perceptions about the vaccine’s safety and side effects. The side effects vary depending on the type of the vaccine, but they are mainly mild, local, temporary, and self-limiting. Methods A cross-sectional study was carried out at Tanta University Hospitals, including 1246 healthcare workers who received either the first or the second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, selected via a systematic random sampling technique using a self-administered structured validated questionnaire for data collection from November 2021 to January 2022. Qualitative data were presented as frequencies and percentages and analyzed using Chi-square and Fisher’s exact tests. Results The prevalence of one or more side effects was 91.3%. Among participants, about two-thirds believed in vaccine safety and its necessity (65.4% and 63.6%, respectively). Significantly more participants (46.9%) were concerned about AstraZeneca thrombotic complications than other vaccine types. The top five side effects reported by participants were injection site pain (64.8%), sense of fatigue (57.1%), headache (49.9%), muscle pain (48.7%), and fever (46.5). Most of the side effects were significantly higher among participants vaccinated with AstraZeneca. Side effects impacted work capacity of 23.4%, which was significantly higher among participants who received AstraZeneca (33.6%). Conclusion Participants had a good level of belief in vaccination safety and necessity. Healthcare workers who got the AstraZeneca vaccination reported more adverse effects than other vaccines. Injection site pain, fatigue, headache, muscle pains, and fever were the most frequently reported side effects. More research on vaccination safety is needed to understand the long-term adverse effects of vaccinations better, improve the public trust, and accelerate vaccine adoption.

BackgroundScreening of β thalassemia among close relatives is more feasible in highly prevalent countries with limited resources. The purpose of this study is to determine the prevalence of β thalassemia carriers and iron deficiency anemia among relatives of β thalassemia patients in Mid Delta, Egypt.MethodsThis is a cross-sectional multi-center study conducted on 2118 relatives of patients with β thalassemia from different Egyptian governorates in the Mid Delta region. They were subjected to history taking with precise determination of geographic location, general examination, and the following investigations: complete blood counts, serum ferritin for those who showed microcytic hypochromic anemia, and high-performance liquid chromatography for those who were not diagnosed as iron deficiency anemia.ResultsThe total prevalence of iron deficiency anemia among close relatives of confirmed β thalassemia patients in the Nile Delta region was 17.19%. The highest prevalence of iron deficiency anemia (45.05%) was reported in Al-Gharbia Governorate, followed by Al-Menoufia Governorate (21.67%), and the lowest prevalence was that of Al-Sharkia Governorate (4.91%). The differences were highly statistically significant (p < 0.001). β thalassemia carrier prevalence rate in the studied relatives was 35.84%, with the highest prevalence detected in Al-Sharkia Governorate (51.32%), followed by Kafr-Alsheikh and Al-Dakahilia Governorates (41.78%, 37.13%) respectively, while Al-Menoufia Governorate had the lowest prevalence rate (25.00%). These differences were also highly statistically significant (p < 0.001).ConclusionMore than one-third of relatives of patients with β thalassemia are carriers of the disease, while 17.19% suffer from iron deficiency anemia. This study demonstrates the importance of tracing the high number of beta thalassemia carriers among relatives of patients with β thalassemia in Egypt.

Digital eye strain (DES) is a growing occupational and public health problem and one of the most frequent reasons for seeking medical care. The objectives of this study are to identify the prevalence and to study some associated personal, ergonomic, and environmental factors of DES among information technology (IT) professionals at Tanta University, Egypt. An interview questionnaire was used to collect data related to socio-demographic, job, ergonomic and environmental characteristics. Computer vision syndrome questionnaire (CVS-Q) was used for the assessment of DES. It was used to measure ocular and visual symptoms related to computer use. CVS-Q includes 16 symptoms that are scored using two rating scales, one for frequency and the other for intensity. A total of 108 IT professionals were included. Prevalence of DES was 82.41%. The most common symptoms were headache (81.5%), burning of the eye (75.9%), and blurred vision (70.4%). Significant predictors of DES were female gender (OR = 2.845), age ≥ 35 years (OR = 1.112), daily computer use more than 6 h (OR = 1.351), duration of work more than 10 years (OR = 1.793), wearing corrective glasses (OR = 5.009), distance from the monitor less than 20 in. (OR = 4.389), not using antiglare screen (OR = 0.214), no brightness adjustment of screen (OR = 0.015), not taking break time during computer work (OR = 0.007), exposure to air pollution (OR = 5.667), use of the air conditioner (OR = 23.021), and exposure to windy environments (OR = 3.588). Prevalence of DES was found to be high among IT professionals. Significant predictors of DES were female gender, older age, wearing eyeglasses, long duration of computer use, unadjusted ergonomic workstation, and dry environment. DES is a problem that can be prevented by increasing knowledge and awareness about DES by providing computer users with eye health education, periodic training on a proper ergonomic computer workstation, and adjustment of the suitable comfortable workplace environment.

Dengue fever (DF) is one of the world’s most important vector-borne illnesses. In 2017, Egypt experienced a dengue outbreak. This study aimed to assess the knowledge and attitudes of nursing students regarding DF and the effectiveness of an education intervention to improve students’ knowledge and attitude. An intervention study was conducted among 4th year nursing students of Tanta Faculty of Nursing using a self-administered predesigned validated questionnaire before and after introducing an educational session. The main DF information sources were formal teaching, social networks, television, and physicians. Less than half of the students (45.5%) had “good” knowledge grade after the intervention compared with only 7.2% in the pre-test. The students’ knowledge and attitude improved after the application of the intervention session. The positive impact of the educational intervention on knowledge and attitude regarding DF and its prevention among the target group revealed the importance of the inclusion of teaching materials about DF into the students’ curricula.

Background The final decision to fast or not fast for routine lipid profile examination in a standard, healthy population is unclear. Whereas the United States and European protocols state that fasting for regular lipid analysis is unnecessary, the North American and Chinese guidelines still recommend fasting before routine lipid testing. Aim This study aimed to unravel the contradiction between the different protocols of lipid profile testing worldwide and clarify the effect of diet on lipid profile testing only in a regular, healthy population. Methods A literature search was conducted through May 2024. The analyses included studies performed from the date 2000 until now because the contradiction of guidelines for lipid profile testing appeared for the first time in this period. A planned internal validity evaluation was performed using the National Institute of Health (NIH) quality measurement tools for observational cohort, case‒control, controlled interventional, and cross-sectional studies. The data were synthesized according to RevMan 5.3. Results Eight studies with a total of 244,665 participants were included. The standardized mean difference in cholesterol in six studies showed significant differences in overall effect among fasting and nonfasting states ( P  < 0.00001), as did high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ( P  < 0.00001). At the same time, with respect to triglycerides and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, there were notable variations in the overall effect between the fasted and nonfasted states ( P  < 0.00001 and P  ≤ 0.001, respectively). Conclusions This meta-analysis concluded that fasting for lipid profile testing is preferred as a conservative model to reduce variability and increase consistency in patients’ metabolic status when sampling for lipid testing.

This study utilized Aspergillus flavus to produce selenium nanoparticles (Se-NPs) in an environmentally friendly and ecologically sustainable manner, targeting several medicinal applications. These biosynthesized Se-NPs were meticulously characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, transmission electron microscope (TEM), and UV–visible spectroscopy (UV), revealing their spherical shape and size ranging between 28 and 78 nm. We conducted further testing of Se-NPs to evaluate their potential for biological applications, including antiviral, anticancer, antibacterial, antioxidant, and antibiofilm activities. The results indicate that biosynthesized Se-NPs could be effective against various pathogens, including Salmonella typhimurium (ATCC 14028), Bacillus pumilus (ATCC 14884), Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 6538), Clostridium sporogenes (ATCC 19404), Escherichia coli (ATCC 8739), and Bacillus subtilis (ATCC 6633). Additionally, the biosynthesized Se-NPs exhibited anticancer activity against three cell lines: pancreatic carcinoma (PANC1), cervical cancer (Hela), and colorectal adenocarcinoma (Caco-2), with IC50 values of 177, 208, and 216 μg/mL, respectively. The nanoparticles demonstrated antiviral activity against HSV-1 and HAV, achieving inhibition rates of 66.4% and 15.1%, respectively, at the maximum non-toxic concentration, while also displaying antibiofilm and antioxidant properties. In conclusion, the biosynthesized Se-NPs by A. flavus present a promising avenue for various biomedical applications with safe usage.

To evaluate the phytochemical composition, antibacterial, and antioxidant activity of successive extracts of Centaurea calcitrapa L. (C. calcitrapa) aerial flowering parts, they were assessed in vitro. Using a spectrophotometer, the sample absorbance at 517 nm was used to quantify the scavenging activity. The negative control was DPPH. In the current study, the diffusion using agar wells technique was adapted to measure antimicrobial activity. Phytochemical analysis was performed using the recommended standard procedures. The methanol extract of C. calcitrapa exhibited high levels of total phenolic acids expressed as gallic acid (GA), measured as (97.25 ± 0.73 mg GAE/g) content compared to the chloroform, acetyl acetate, and aqueous extracts (27.42 ± 0.29, 64.25 ± 0.96, and 17.25 ± 0.73 mg GAE/g), respectively. Additionally, the methanol extract had a higher total tannin (27.52 ± 0.53 mg TAE/g) content compared to the chloroform, ethyl acetate, and aqueous extracts (12.02 ± 0.55, 26.01 ± 0.81, and 7.35 ± 0.56 mg TAE/g), respectively, while the aqueous extract contains a lower percentage of flavonoids (141.10 ± 1.31 mg RTE/g) compared to the higher content achieved by the methanol extract (425.93 ± 1.27 mg RTE/g). The hydroxyl groups of the flavonoid and the phenolic compounds found in C. calcitrapa are essentially scavenging free radicals. Radical scavenging activity was highest in the methanol extract (IC50 = 2.82 μg/mL), aqueous extract (IC50 = 8.03 μg/mL), ethyl acetate extract (IC50 = 4.79 μg/mL), and chloroform extract (IC50 = 6.33 μg/mL), as compared to the standard scavenging activity (IC50 = 2.52 μg/mL). The antibacterial properties of C. calcitrapa against Gram-negative bacterial strains Klebsiella pneumoniae, Escherichia coli, Enterobacter aerogenes, and Acinetobacter baumanii, in addition to Gram-positive strains Staphylococcus haemolyticus, Enterococcus faecalis, and Staphylococcus aureus, revealed inhibition zone diameter. The findings of this investigation establish that the aerial flowering parts of C. calcitrapa have substantial antibacterial action against human infections, and the plant can serve as a significant antioxidant that can be employed to prevent and treat severe degenerative diseases brought on by oxidative stress. qPCR showed that C. calcitrapa extracts elevate both SOD1 and SOD2 (cellular oxidation markers) with remarkable folds (1.8-fold for SOD1 and SOD2) with ethyl acetate plant extract against ascorbic acid as a control. This result reflects that C. calcitrapa extracts have remarkable antioxidant activity.

Intra-arterial chemotherapy has shown promising results and improved the prognosis of retinoblastoma in the developed countries. Here, we aim to report our initial experience, in Egypt, in the treatment of all stages of naïve retinoblastoma with ophthalmic artery chemosurgery (OAC), using melphalan. The technique was successful in 23 out of 26 eyes. Overall, a total of 63 treatment sessions were performed. Ophthalmic artery catheterization was performed in 59 treatment sessions, whereas middle meningeal artery catheterization was performed in 4 treatment sessions. Adequate tumor control was achieved in 95.6%. Progression has developed in one eye after the third OAC session. The mean follow-up period was 18.5 months. Recurrence of the main tumor as well as vitreous and subretinal seeds was reported in one eye after 19-month duration. A globe salvage rate of 91.3% was attained. No metastasis was recorded, and all patients were alive within the stated follow-up period. A high globe salvage rate along with metastasis free survival and mild complications were achieved. Therefore, our initial experience with OAC in primary retinoblastoma proved to be safe and effective.